I woke up in the tent around 6:00 a.m. I spent a good amount of time writing. I’m finally starting to get caught up on my writing. This is something I’ve wanted to do for a couple months now. Being with my girlfriend definitely put a damper on my writing. The cold also inhibited me in many ways. It’s hard to explain how the cold steals your motivation. I managed to stay warm in my sleeping bags and under my covers, but the cold is all around you. As soon as you introduce your hands or your face or your feet to the cold your body tenses up. As it gets warmer, I feel my motivation increasing. I put a lot of thought into this homeless project. A whole year in New England is necessary for one to grasp the whole experience of living outside. People like to think that they have a lot of internal power and infinite free will. Our environment is more impactful to our decisions than any of us like to admit. We are the environment that we immerse ourselves in.
At 7:45 I got myself ready and I left the tent. I walked over to my truck and I changed into new clothes. My truck is parked close enough to the highway for cars to see. Although it is in the woods enough where it’s out of the way. I open both doors on the driver side and I use that as a changing room. I would wear the same clothes everyday, but I have to work around people and I don’t want them to see me wearing the same clothes everyday. Once I changed I started up my truck and I drove to work.
I arrived at work half an hour early like I usually do. I got myself some yogurt out of the refrigerator and ate my breakfast. Below is my outreach log for the day.
The Outreach team arrived at the shelter at 9:00 a.m. We put supplies in the truck and I headed over to the faith-based homeless day shelter while Ezekiel helped a client at the shelter. While I was at The faith-based homeless day shelter I did Vesta files and coordinated entries for Lois, her son Hollis, Caesar, Hector, Tito, and Roselda. I also saw a new person named Kerry and I got her name and birthday. I will cycle back and start working with her tomorrow if I see her.
It was 1:00 p.m. by the time I was done doing the intakes for rapid rehousing. Ezekiel had walked over to the house of Mercy and met me there. We met with two female workers from another social service agency and we walked over to a new encampment that the police had said would have to be removed by Tuesday. No one was at the encampment.
The Outreach team came back to the shelter and we grabbed the shelter boss and two shelter guests and we went to the metal dump and disposed of old metal tables, some other trash, and a washing machine.
By the time this was finished it was around 3:00 p.m. Ezekiel and I drove to Haverhill to pick up some tents from Ezekiel’s program that helps at-risk youth, for Tito and Roselda and another individual who were sleeping outside and had no protection from the elements. By the time we returned from Haverhill the day was finished.
I left work a little after 5:00 p.m. and I drove to the tent. I caught an accident on my way home and took a video. When I arrived at my camp I just hung out and settled in for the night